‘William Henry Fox Talbot (1800-1877) is widely considered to be the founder of photography. His personal archive, currently in private hands, is now up for sale for an estimated price of £2.2 million. The Bodleian Libraries have been awarded £1.2 million by the National Heritage Memorial Fund and have until the end of February 2013 to raise the remaining funds to acquire this Archive.’
‘The Archive contains pieces key to our heritage, including some of the first family photographs and the earliest surviving photograph by a woman. It is of unparalleled importance in understanding the background to Talbot’s pioneering The Pencil of Nature – the first commercially printed book to contain photographic illustration (a milestone in publishing history). It shows the influence Talbot’s family surroundings had on the composition of, and inspiration for, his photographic discoveries and includes some of the artefacts photographed for The Pencil.’
Bodleian Libraries seek support to acquire the Talbot Archive
Donate to the fund here
